Ministerial Inquiry report into woody debris
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The Ministerial Inquiry report into woody debris (including forestry slash) and sediment in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa has been presented to the Government.
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Financial advisers - Australia to remove qualification requirements
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After concern that financial advisers with extensive experience are leaving the industry, the Australian government has released a draft bill removing tertiary education requirements for them.
Read MoreFirst formal warning under the AML/CFT Act in the legal industry
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Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has issued a formal warning to law firm Kidd Legal under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act). This is the first formal warning issued to the legal sector under this legislation.
WorkSafe’s non-prosecution decisions under scrutiny
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Ministry of Workplace Relations and Safety, Andrew Little, has ordered WorkSafe to seek external legal advice from Crown Law or Crown Solicitors whenever a Coroner recommends that WorkSafe consider a prosecution or reconsider its decision not to prosecute.
Read MoreThe final stage in the real estate price-fixing saga: Penalty
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Commerce Commission v Lodge Real Estate Limited [2020] NZHC 2329
In our April blog we summarised the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Trade Me/real estate agents price-fixing saga. On dismissal of the real estate agents’ appeal, the Supreme Court referred the matter back to the High Court for determination of the penalty to be paid by Lodge Real Estate and Monarch Real Estate.
$7.5m in penalties for serious anti-money laundering breach
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Dept of Internal Affairs v OTT Trading Group Ltd [2020] NZHC 1663
In this decision, the Department of Internal Affairs (the Department) claimed that between May 2014 and April 2019, OTT Trading Group (OTT) and MSI Group Limited (MSI) breached their obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (the Act).
Project orders – not an easy way out
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Maritime New Zealand v Fullers Group Ltd [2020] NZDC 10157
The lesser known alternative to a traditional fine given under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) is the use of health and safety project orders.
Read MoreFirst ever court-ordered enforceable undertaking
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In yet another instance of a non-financial sanction given under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA), a court-ordered enforceable undertaking pursuant to s156 of the HSWA has been imposed for the first time in New Zealand, instead of a traditional fine.
Read MoreFirst workplace manslaughter in Australia
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R v Brisbane Auto Recycling Pty Ltd & Ors [2020] QDC 113
In our February 2020 issue of In Brief, we discussed how two further Australian jurisdictions (Victoria and the Northern Territory) had passed workplace manslaughter laws. Now, Australia has had its first workplace manslaughter sentence. The sentence was imposed in Queensland, pursuant to workplace manslaughter laws, which have been in force since 2017 following an amendment to Queensland’s Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011.
Read MoreFishing vessel sinking leads to the first conviction of an officer in New Zealand
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In June 2017, a fishing vessel, the Victory II, sank off Kaikōura while grossly overloaded with fish. In a prosecution brought by Maritime New Zealand, Antonio Basile, the sole director of the fishing company, Nino’s Ltd, became the first officer to be convicted and sentenced under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA). Nino’s Ltd was also sentenced, as was the Victory II’s skipper, Mr McCauley.
Read MorePolice bring first forfeiture action against health and safety offender
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WorkSafe NZ v Salter [2017] NZDC 26277
In 2017, Auckland business owner, Ron Salter, and his waste fuel collection business, Salters Cartage Ltd (Salters), were convicted for a series of breaches of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. The Police are now commencing proceedings against Mr Salter under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 (Act). This is the first time a proceeding has been brought under this Act in relation to a health and safety offending.
Reparations and the Resource Management Act
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GDC v Aratu Forestry Ltd
This recent sentencing decision is notable for two reasons. First, because of the large fine imposed on a forestry company for breaching the Resource Management Act 1993 (RMA), and second – perhaps more interestingly – because the Court ordered the defendants to pay a significant sum in reparations to affected persons for emotional harm. While reparation payments are common for other kinds of offences, they are uncommon for convictions under the RMA. The case also raises issues such as whether a defendant is insured for reparation payments, and, if so, which insurance policy will provide cover?
Workplace manslaughter is rolled out further in Australia: Is New Zealand next?
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Workplace manslaughter (also referred to as industrial/corporate manslaughter) has been an offence in the United Kingdom since 2008. Closer to home, Victoria and the Northern Territory have joined the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Queensland as the latest Australian jurisdictions to pass workplace manslaughter laws.
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